Maintenance/Electrical Controls
Position Summary
The Electrical Controls & Maintenance Technician is responsible for the installation, troubleshooting, repair, and preventive maintenance of electrical, electronic, and automated control systems throughout the facility. This role supports production by maintaining PLC- and HMI-controlled processing and packaging equipment, minimizing downtime, and executing the plant's preventive maintenance (PM) program. The ideal candidate combines strong electrical fundamentals with hands-on PLC/HMI troubleshooting experience in a food manufacturing environment.
Essential Duties & Responsibilities
• Troubleshoot, diagnose, and repair electrical and controls issues on production equipment, including PLCs, HMIs, VFDs, servo drives, motor starters, sensors, and safety circuits
• Interpret and work from electrical schematics, wiring diagrams, panel layouts, ladder logic, and OEM documentation
• Monitor, modify, and back up PLC programs (e.g., Allen-Bradley/Rockwell RSLogix 500, Studio 5000; Siemens TIA Portal) as needed to support production and troubleshooting; document all program changes
• Configure and troubleshoot HMI applications (e.g., FactoryTalk View, Siemens WinCC, PanelView, proprietary OEM interfaces)
• Diagnose and resolve issues on industrial networks (Ethernet/IP, Profinet, DeviceNet, AS-i) and remote I/O
• Execute assigned preventive maintenance work orders on electrical and control systems per the plant PM program, including inspections, cleaning, calibration, thermal checks, and torque verification of electrical connections; complete PM documentation accurately and on time
• Co-ordinate with and assist contractors on new equipment installation, upgrades, and relocations, including conduit, wiring, panel building, and terminations to NEC standards
• Maintain, calibrate, and repair instrumentation such as temperature probes, pressure transmitters, load cells, flow meters, level sensors, and metal detectors/checkweighers
• Support mechanical maintenance tasks as needed, including pumps, gearboxes, bearings, pneumatics, and hydraulics
• Follow and enforce Lockout/Tagout (LOTO), arc flash, and all electrical safety procedures (NFPA 70E)
• Respond promptly to breakdowns and production calls; communicate status and root cause clearly to operations and maintenance leadership
• Enter work order data, parts usage, and repair history into the CMMS accurately and completely
• Assist with root cause analysis of recurring failures and recommend reliability improvements
• Maintain spare parts awareness and notify the parts room/planner of critical stock needs
• Comply with all GMP, food safety (SQF/BRC/HACCP), sanitation, and housekeeping requirements applicable to a food processing environment
• Support equipment changeovers, commissioning of new equipment, and contractor oversight as assigned
Equipment Environment
This facility operates automated confectionery/food processing and packaging equipment, which may include depositing lines (e.g., Aasted, IPCO Rotoform), ball mills and immersion mills (e.g., Royal Duyvis Wiener, Schold, Hockmeyer), mixers, tempering units, cooling tunnels, conveyors, and associated utilities (compressed air, chilled/hot water systems, hydraulic power units). Familiarity with this class of equipment is a strong plus.